App Experiences Key to User Satisfaction With Streaming Services, Says Report

A Strategy Analytics report analyzing ratings and reviews for Pandora and Spotify said consumers are more satisfied with Spotify than Pandora, but Spotify customers are three times more likely to be frustrated by customer service issues than Pandora's. The analysis of more than 2,100 online U.S. reviews showed consumers rated Spotify 4.07 out of five stars, 3.54 for Pandora. Issues with the app or software drove most consumer dissatisfaction, and there were far more for Pandora consumers, said SA, noting both services’ apps had received recent updates. Changing the user experience made Spotify harder for users to navigate, said SA analyst Kevin Nolan, and Pandora users reported that the app “no longer worked properly.” Pandora users “are more likely to switch to Spotify,” it said: Pandora users mentioning Spotify in their reviews were “far more negative towards Pandora” than Spotify users mentioning Pandora. The report, which examined more than 500 of the services’ two- and one-star reviews, found more than half of negative reviews involved a poor app experience.